Written Reply to Parliamentary Question on Hawker Digitalisation and Succession Programmes by Ms Grace Fu, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment

Written Reply by Ms Grace Fu, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment, to Parliamentary Question on Hawker Digitalisation and Succession Programmes

Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) for the past three years, what are the take-up rates for hawkers’ digitalisation, productivity and succession schemes such as Hawkers Go Digital, Hawkers’ Productivity Grant, Food Delivery Support Scheme and Incubation Stall Programme by (i) ethnic groups and (ii) age groups of hawker stall owners; and (b) whether the Ministry tracks the overall digitalisation progress by adoption of food delivery and e-payment methods by hawkers’ ethnic groups and age groups, and, if so, what is this progress.

Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) whether the Ministry tracks the current range of, median and average commission costs charged by food delivery platforms and, if so, what is the data; and (b) to date, what is the number and percentage of hawkers who have taken up the various Food Delivery Support Packages.

Answer:

1 From 2019 to 2021, 39 aspiring hawkers enrolled in the Incubation Stall Programme, while close to 400 participated in the Hawkers’ Development Programme. About 70% of the participants were below 50 years old, of which about half were between 20 and 40 years old. This is encouraging as the median age of our cooked food stallholders is 60 years old.

2 More than 700 cooked food stallholders have tapped on the Hawkers’ Productivity Grant to purchase kitchen automation equipment and service innovation systems, such as queue management and wireless paging systems. More than 70% of these stallholders are above 50 years old, many of whom have given feedback to the National Environment Agency (NEA) that the investments have enhanced their workflow and mitigated the physical demands of their work.

3 On the digitalisation front, as of July 2021, more than 4,000 cooked food stallholders have adopted e-payment under the Hawkers Go Digital Programme. For food delivery services, about 1,400 cooked food stallholders, have applied for NEA’s Food Delivery Support Scheme (FDSS), which provides $500 in funding to help stallholders defray the cost of getting on board food delivery platforms. 2 in 3 applicants were 50 years old and above.

4 Some platforms servicing hawkers may charge zero commission, while others may structure their commission charges according to the services offered. Under the FDSS, hawkers are free to make their own commercial arrangements and sign up with their preferred platforms. Under the Alliance for Action on online ordering, Grab, Deliveroo and FoodPanda will explore a common acquirer model with WhyQ for food delivery at 14 hawker centres. This will allow hawkers easier access to customers of all participating online ordering platforms, along with an integrated interface to receive and manage orders at zero commission costs to hawkers.

5 All our schemes and programmes are made available to stallholders regardless of ethnicity and we do not track the participation rate by ethnic groups. NEA and the SG Digital Office’s Digital Ambassadors will continue to actively reach out to and support hawkers in adopting digital solutions, such as e-payment and food delivery services.